The instant invention also represents an improvement to my prior invention embodied in two prior patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,978,306 and 5,018,980. Both of the said patents are also hereby herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The instant invention relates to designs for a (preferably snap-apart) connection device for power, electrical and/or optical signals. One embodiment of the invention provides at least three contacts. Preferably at least four contacts are provided. The device is particularly applicable for telecommunications, for communication of voice and/or data information, as well as for other electrical communication where multi-contacts are required or desired. Features of the invention include a universal joint as well as a preferably snap-apart snap-together connection. A particular feature of the invention is construction using deformed PCBs embedded in thermosetting plastic with elastomeric properties.
The preferably snap-apart electrical connection device can function as an at least three-contact connector, and preferably an at least four-contact universally jointed connector, particularly applicable for telecommunication uses. The ability of one element or layer of the connector, at times referred to as “a ball,” to rotate essentially endlessly with respect to another element or layer of the connection device, at times referred to herein as “a socket,” alleviates tangling issues. The further provision for tilting or pivoting of one layer with respect to the other layer of the connection device, to a significant extent, also alleviates potential tangling of electrical or communication lines.
The four-contact embodiment occurred to me while sitting at a desk, frustrated with a tangle of a spiral cord on a telephone. When either answering or completing telephone calls, it is natural to rotate the telephone handset upon pick-up and return to the desk device. With multiple phone calls, the cord between the handset and the desk device becomes twisted. When twisted, it is very difficult to straighten out. Usually, you have to disconnect the cord from either the handset or the desk device. Then, you spend a significant amount of time untwisting the cord, which will not just unwind by itself. When you are done, the spiral design of the cord is usually kinked. Additional time has to be spent working the kinks, one spiral at a time, all the way to the end of the cord. When finished the spiral cord between the telephone handset and desk device is usually not the same as before the tangle occurred. The cord is damaged and never again will be as “good as new.”
I initially wondered if there were a way to prevent the twisting and tangling from occurring in the first place. If you could, then there would be savings of frustration, time spent untangling and restoring the coil design of the telephone cord, prevention of damage to the cord itself, and savings of cost associated with replacing tangled and damaged telephone cords. This was when it occurred to me that, with improvement, my prior design for a snap-apart electrical connection device, referenced above, could also be applicable in telecommunications which required at least four contacts.
The “ball and socket” nature of a snap-apart electrical connection, as previously disclosed, would permit the required “rotation” needed to eliminate tangling, damage, and unnecessary replacement of the telephone cord. In addition to the positive, negative, and ground points of contact, needed for an electrical circuit, a fourth point of contact, however, would be needed to allow for a new and fundamentally different application of the prior snap-apart electrical connection device to the telecommunications industry. The availability of a location for the fourth connection point was not initially or readily apparent.
The prior art, embodied in my prior snap-apart electrical device, relies on the three-dimensional geometric properties of a sphere. It uses the two “poles” and “equator” of a sphere to accommodate rotation of the “ball” while, at the same time, maintaining constant connection via the “socket.” Segregation of electrical contact points to the ends and middle of the sphere, and the resulting space between contact points, is necessary to prevent short-circuiting of the rotating electrical connection that the snap-apart device permits. See above referenced patents incorporated by reference.
Within the rigid geometry of a sphere, it was not immediately obvious how provision of a fourth point of contact could be accomplished. There are only two poles and one equator associated with any sphere. Telephone conversations need four contact points. A fourth contact point did not seem possible initially for the snap-apart electrical connection device I had previously invented.
An inventive idea subsequently suggested itself, to the effect that if the “socket” of my prior art snap-apart electrical connector could also function as a “ball,” and if the “ball” of my prior art connector could be improved upon to further incorporate an outer layer “socket” or shell, then there could be an opportunity to provide a fourth connector as needed for telephone conversations. Indeed, even a fifth and/or a sixth was possible, as illustrated herein. To accomplish this improvement, I redesigned the inner layer “ball” component of my prior art connector by incorporating with it an outer layer “shell,” of the same flexible non-conducting material. This redesign created the third layer, the “shell,” needed to provide a location for the fourth electrical connection point. As discussed above, even a fifth or a sixth connection point could be created.
For a fourth conductive path, an electrically conductive surface could be located inside the new flexible outer layer or “shell,” at the top, or north, “pole” into which the “socket” from the prior art device now inserts as a ball. To complete the required fourth electrical connection, an electrically conductive contact point could be incorporated onto the exterior of the prior art “socket,” now turned into an intermediate ball/socket layer, near the top “pole” opening provided for insertion of the prior art “ball.”
Thus, redesigning the “ball” of the prior art snap-apart electrical connection device to now incorporate a third layer, an outer shell, provided one-half of the structure necessary for the fourth connection. The “socket” of the prior art snap-apart electrical connection, now redesigned as an intermediate layer functioning as both a ball and a socket, provides the other half of the fourth connection. The new intermediate layer snaps over the prior art “ball” and into the newly designed outer “shell” layer.
Not being certain that such a novel snap-apart electrical connection device could actually be constructed for application as a connector for telecommunication devices, I constructed a prototype model of the improvements needed for a telecommunications use. Construction and testing of the prototypical model demonstrated the feasibility of providing the fourth connection point. Operation of the prototypical model showed that a redesign of the prior art does provide an opportunity for at least the fourth connection necessary for the use of the snap-apart electrical connector in the telecommunication field. The new invention transformed the prior art into the type of connector that could be used in a new industry.
With this improvement, the snap-apart electrical connector could now be used for any telephone cord. In use, it would allow rotation of the cord in the socket and prevent damage due to tangling. In addition, the snap-apart feature eliminates the problems that arise when the plastic tab, needed to mechanically hold a typical communications connector into its socket and maintain the connection, has broken off accidentally and/or from frequent connection and disconnection.
Furthermore, while constructing the “shell” improvement, I realized that it provided an additional opportunity to further improve the prior art snap-apart electrical connection device. The addition of the new “shell” to the prior art “ball” provided the opportunity to add a “gasket” on the inside surface of the “shell” improvement. The gasket provides insulation from the environment.
As the “shell” improvement permits the “socket” of the prior art to now also act as a “ball” within the new “shell,” a flexible, weather-proof gasket could be incorporated near the opening of the “shell.” When the “socket” of the prior art is snapped over the “ball” and into the new shell, both “shell” and gasket” expand and encase a portion of the exterior of the prior art “socket.” By enclosing the prior art “socket” with a “shell” and “gasket,” a weather-proof seal is created while continuing to permit rotation of the prior art “plug” within the prior art “socket.” As a result, the entire snap-apart connection device, whether used for telecommunications or for simple electrical connections, could be protected from a dangerous invasion of moisture. Thus in summary, the new “shell,” that provides a third layer and enables a fourth connection point, necessary at least for telecommunications, also permits an unforeseen opportunity to provide a “gasket” necessary to permit use of the snap-apart electrical device in moisture prone locations and environments. In combination, these improvements to the prior art embodied in the snap-apart electrical device I previously developed, have addressed applications that were not previously foreseeable.
Please see the attached FIG. 1 for an illustration of the four contact point improvements described above. Please also note that spheres rotating within spheres will always have contact at the intersections of their equators. Please further note that, beyond those disclosed in the attached drawings, additional “shells” can be added to both “ball” and “socket,” thereby providing additional contact “points.” FIG. 4 illustrates such embodiments, particularly useful for multiple digital data channels.
The electrical plug described by prior art has further been improved to create a multi-channel connection device that is capable of transmitting not only electrical current, but also a plurality of channels of voice and digital data. The device shown in FIG. 4 discloses improvements on prior art as follows. Development of a first thermoplastic shell to the “ball,” and a second similar shell on the “socket” provides additional contact points for transmission of multiple electronic signals needed for telecommunication of voice and digital data. Beyond contact points needed for electrical power, multiple points of contact permit the faster transmission of data associated with various computer protocols. Incorporation of this telecommunications related, specifically digital data, improvement to the snap-apart electrical connection disclosed in the above referenced patents allows use of the device as a multi-channel digital connector device for applications controlled by computer programming technologies. Incorporation of further weather-proof gaskets enhances use of the device in outdoor environments.
My prior universally jointed three-way connector device had provided difficulties in construction and manufacturing. The four-way, five-way and six-way connector device multiplied significantly those difficulties. Hence, subsequent to making the above inventions, I directed attention to the complexity of manufacture of practical embodiments of the inventions, including the prior art three-connector device. I devised an embodiment for, and invented a method of constructing, multiple connection devices, as disclosed above, using deformable printed circuit boards (PCB). The goal of the new inventive embodiment and method is to achieve multiple electrical connections while simplifying the manufacturing process for a preferably snap apart universally jointed multiple connector electrical plug device.
An overview of a set of major manufacturing steps for one preferred embodiment of the instant invention, including up to a six contact connector device, is as follows:                Step 1 Multiple Printed Circuit Boards (PCB), of differing designs, are printed flat using a copper foil stamping technique on a sheet of heat deformable plastic while simultaneously cutting the sheet of deformable plastic into desired shape. Each PCB has unique stamping on a “Side A” and “Side B” that permits adequate separation of electrical circuitry.        Step 2 Circuitry on Side A is connected to the appropriate circuitry on Side B by a punching and soldered technique at specific “contact points.”        Step 3 Using a heat molding technique the thus stamped, cut and punch soldered PCB is “deformed” into hemispherical shapes and/or cylindrical shapes (PCB 6 & 7 only in the figures) of the appropriate diameter.        Step 4 Groups of deformed PCBs are assembled using PCB 6 (Assembly A) and PCB 7 (Assembly B) of the figures as an “armature” that passes through the centers of some PCB components.        Step 5 A soldering technique joins individual PCB components to the “armature” and completes electrical circuitry for the “Assembly” (Assembly A & B) of PCB components.        Step 6 Electrically conductive wire is soldered to “contact points” at the end of the “armatures” (PCB 6 and PCB 7) of both Assembly A and Assembly B.        Step 7 Assembly A and Assembly B are placed in their own separate, unique injection molding dies and subsequently embedded in a thermosetting plastic material with elastomeric properties that will permit repeated de-coupling of the “snap-apart” electrical plug device.        
The use of an “armature” with an assembly of PCB components, which is then encased in injection molded thermoset plastic, simplifies manufacture of the snap-apart plug device and adds overall structural strength to the finished device.